Craig Wilson

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For other uses, see: Craig Wilson (disambiguation).
Craig Wilson

Wilson, playing with the Braves in 2007
Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 28
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: November 30, 1976 (1976-11-30) (age 31)
Fountain Valley, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
Major League Baseball debut
April 22, 2001 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Selected MLB statistics
(through 2007)
Batting average     .262
Home runs     99
Runs batted in     292
Teams


Craig Allan Wilson (born November 30, 1976 in Fountain Valley, California) is a baseball player currently signed to play with the Pittsburgh Pirates' AAA minor league team. Wilson can play first base or in the outfield. He bats and throws right-handed.

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[edit] Early career

Wilson played high school ball at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California, and was drafted as a catcher out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Pirates acquired the rights to Wilson before the 1997 season, and gradually moved him to first base and the outfield. After several years in the minor leagues, Wilson was called up to the big-league club in 2001.

[edit] Major League career

After three years as a role player and pinch-hitter, Wilson played regularly in 2004, hitting .264 with 29 home runs and 82 RBI in 155 games, but posting a franchise-record 169 strikeouts in 561 at-bats. He led the Major Leagues at being hit by pitches in 2002 (21) and 2004 (30). Wilson tied the Major League single-season record for pinch-hit home runs with seven in 2001.

In 2005, Wilson played in only 59 games as a result of two separate hand injuries that caused him to spend over half the season on the disabled list, playing in only five games between May 6 and August 28. He ended the season with a .264 average, 5 home runs, and 22 RBI in 197 at-bats.

Through Wilson's career as a Pirate, he had frequently been dogged by trade rumors. In 2006, with the acquisition of Jeromy Burnitz, members of the Pittsburgh press asserted that the Pirates, despite Wilson's relative success, were trying to trade him. At the trade deadline of the 2006 season, Wilson was traded to the New York Yankees for Shawn Chacon. According to the New York Post, at least one general manager in the National League found the deal inexplicable from the Pirates' standpoint. Voicing the opinion that Pirates GM Dave Littlefield had undersold Wilson, the anonymous GM was quoted as saying, "We really thought Wilson was a guy a lot of AL teams would be interested in. He is a high strikeout guy, but he can hit a fastball, damage lefty pitching, and not embarrass himself in right field or at first."[1]

Overall in 2006, Craig batted .251 with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs. Though he only batted 359 times, he struck out 122 times. The Yankees didn't re-sign him, causing him to become a free agent.

The Atlanta Braves signed Wilson to a one-year contract worth $2 million USD on January 18, 2007. After 40 games of the 2007 season with the Braves, Wilson was granted his unconditional release on May 17, 2007 to make room for Brayan Peña on the roster. On May 28, 2007 he signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, but ended up undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in June. Wilson was released by the White Sox at the end of the 2007 season. On February 9, 2008, Wilson signed a minor league contract with an invite to spring training with the Cincinnati Reds, but was released on February 21 after failing a physical. On April 8, 2008 he signed a minor league deal to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "BOMBERS TAKE CAKE IN TRADING STAKES", Joel Sherman, The New York Post, published August 1, 2006, accessed August 1, 2006.
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